Day 14: Create Inner Space
Welcome to Day 14 of 21 Days on the Mountain. Today we focus on creating a sense of inner space by looking at the sky as we practice the Power of Pause.
Accessing our Inner Stability requires us to be present, aligned, grounded, and adaptable. In order to rebalance ourselves when we get knocked off course by external events, we need to bring our awareness into our body and create space to connect with our feelings and sensations, so that we can think clearly and act decisively.
So join me for today’s video where we spend a few minutes contemplating the sky and the clouds, as an act of self kindness, self care and stability.
Video Transcript
Hello and welcome back for 21 Days On The Mountain, a chance for us to create space and take a breath. This is Day 14 and today we’re going to be focusing on space. The last couple of days have been quite content-rich. I’ve talked quite a lot, shared some of my thoughts with you.
And today I think I just want to give you the chance to feel more spacious. To listen less to my voice and more to the sounds of where I’m standing here. And we’re also going to be looking at the sky. Because even in the most cramped of conditions, whenever we have a window, we can look at the sky. And I find that when I.. one of my favorite things to do is to lie on the grass or yeah, the grass, as it’s comfortable, to lie on the grass, and just look up at the sky. And I find whenever I do that, afterwards I just somehow feel as if I have more space inside, more spacious. My thoughts are less jumbled, everything feels clearer. So the sky is always there, but how often do we look up?
So today, in our two minutes of silence, we’re going to show you the sky, the sky that’s here. And we’re going to be inviting you just to watch the very gradual change in the sky over that two-minute period. There’s a slight breeze here today, so the clouds are moving very gently, very softly. And I’ve been standing myself and watching one cloud for about 15 minutes and it was fascinating to see the imperceptible change that occurred over that 15 minutes, and yet the sky from the beginning of that period to the end of that period, changed significantly but very gradually. So I became quite absorbed by it, and I noticed that in concentrating fully on it for that period, when I came out of that meditation, that cloud meditation, everything felt quite different.
And whilst you’re meditating, and we’ll have the sound of the river, this river here on my left, known as the Torrent de Giffre, so the ‘Torrent of the Giffre Valley’ which is fed from many different sources including the waterfall, the Cascade du Rouget, the magnificent waterfall that was the subject of one of our videos a few days ago. Then you’ll have the chance to listen to the sound of the water, as you contemplate the changing, imperceptibly almost, changing pattern of the cloud in the sky.
So to bring us into that contemplation, let’s remember the three steps of our pause practice; the first as I’m doing now is to press a pause button. The second is to bring our awareness inside as best we can. And the third is to bring conscious awareness to our breathing. We tune in if you like, to the pattern, and depth, and flow of our breath.
I’m going to close my eyes as I always do, to help me concentrate. And for the moment just at the beginning of this practice, I invite you to do the same, as a way of grounding and centering your attention, your awareness and helping you to concentrate.
Coming into this space between your sternum and your navel, become aware of your breath, and follow the flow of your breath into your body, until it arrives into this space. And as you breathe in, allow your in-breath to create more space inside, and allow your out-breath to release, or to help you release any tension and let go. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. And enjoy contemplating the sky and this cloud, and this pattern of clouds for the next two minutes. As you watch the sky, think of it as an act of self kindness, of self care.
Pause…
And when you’re ready, on your next outbreath, gently open your eyes.
So how are you feeling now? What are you noticing? And when you next feel like it, and perhaps every day, remember to take a moment, to look out of the window, to step outside, to lean against a wall, to lie on the grass, and look up. And spend a few minutes contemplating the sky, the space, the clouds, the movement, the change. And see what happens when you do.
Thank you for joining me today. Have a wonderfully spacious day, and in those moments where you might not feel so spacious, where you might feel in some way confined, remember you can always pause, and look up.
21 Days on the Mountain
- Day 1: Why Learn to Pause?
- Day 2: 5 Steps to the Pause Habit
- Day 3: Listen to Nature
- Day 4: Harness the Power of Mind-Body Connection
- Day 5: Develop Your Stable Inner Leader
- Day 6: Access a Peak Experience
- Day 7: Adapt to Change in Uncertain Times
- Day 8: Find Stillness amid Turbulence
- Day 9: Notice How You See Things
- Day 10: Breathe for Calm
- Day 11: Be Like a Mountain
- Day 12: The Lessons of Slowing Down
- Day 13: Develop Fearless Compassion
- Day 14: Create Inner Space
- Day 15: Explore Continuity and Change
- Day 16: See the Big Picture
- Day 17: Embrace Your Shadow Self
- Day 18: Learn Resilience from the Willow
- Day 19: Cultivate Your Inner Smile
- Day 20: Nurture Your Inner Leader
- Day 21: Maintain the Pause Habit
